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Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) Designs Allowed for Design Patent Protection in China
According to Order No.68 issued by the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO), Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) designs will become eligible for design patent protection as of May 1, 2014. The Patent Examination Guidelines have been amended to comply with the new practice. The major amendment contents are as follows:
1. When filing a design application for a graphic user interface (GUI) design , a patent applicant must submit "views of the entire product/device", in which the location of the GUI design is clearly shown. If the GUI design refers to dynamic patterns, the applicant must at least submit a view showing one state of the GUI design; for other state(s) of the GUI design, the applicant may submit a view showing only the key frame of the dynamic patterns; these views must be those by which the variation tendencies of the GUI design can be exclusively determined.
2. If necessary, a design patent application for a GUI design should indicate the usage of the GUI, the location of the GUI design in the concerned product/device, the manners of interaction between a user and the article in which the GUI is used, the variation states thereof, etc.”
3. The pattern of an object shall be permanent and visible, and not flickering or visible only under specific conditions.”
4. The relevant condition for “unpatentable designs” has been modified to the following:
“a pattern design shown on an object/device which is irrelevant to the interaction between users and the concerned object /device, or which is irrelevant to performing the functions of the concerned object/device, such as an electrical screen's background images, screen picture shown on the object/device during the process of turning on and off, or arrangements of texts and pictures on web pages.”
5. For a GUI design, if the portion other than the GUI portion is conventional, the comparison made between said design and the prior art should place emphasis on the GUI portion when compared with the conventional portion.
We hope that you find the above information helpful. If you have any questions on the above Amendment, please feel free to contact us. Our firm and Lee and Li-Leaven IPR Agency Ltd. in Beijing (our IP alliance firm in China) will provide you with the reply to the questions in due course.